As more people buy big-screen TVs for their homes,
interior designers face the challenge of finding
innovative ways to make the screen feel like part
of the room instead of visually taking it over.

As more people buy big-screen TVs for their homes,
interior designers face the challenge of finding
innovative ways to make the screen feel like part
of the room instead of visually taking it over.

"Conceptually, what we're finding is, yes, people
want the focus to be on television viewing, but
the question is how to hide the television," says
Laura Bordeaux, owner of FX Design in Glastonbury,
Conn., and president of the state chapter of the
American Society of Interior Designers.

"It's become a focal point but yet an eyesore in
the same respect because it's so large," she says.

Twenty-nine percent of U.S. households own a TV
that is 40 inches or larger, a Consumer
Electronics Association study found this year, and
61 percent said they expected to own one at some
point if they didn't already.

Some people buy a colossal set to show that they
have the latest technology. For many, it's just a
guy thing -- a bigger screen is ideal for watching
sports and playing video games.

One "TV guy" is West Hartford, Conn., resident
Jeff Anderson. Last year, he and his wife, Kristin
Anderson, renovated the living room of their home.
Jeff agreed to the major renovation Kristin
envisioned -- if they could incorporate a
big-screen TV into the redesign.

West Hartford interior designer Kathy Hayes worked
with the Andersons to make sure their new 50-inch
TV did not dominate the living room.

She set the screen in a dark wooden wall unit to
mask the screen size and filled its other shelves
with textured knickknacks that she says balance
out the slickness of the screen.

Thick draperies hang on each side of the French
doors that face the golf course, creating a larger
visual unit that draws the eye away from the TV
toward the view outside. Hayes used the same
effect around the fireplace, hanging a painting
that filled the space between the mantle and
ceiling to create a greater whole. She also
incorporated circular designs throughout the room
-- end tables, rugs and wall decorations -- to
contrast with the squareness of the TV set.

Hayes visually de-emphasized the television.
Another way to mask a big TV is to frame it and
pretend it's a piece of art.

Chris Ardery of Designs by Chris in Newington,
Conn., hangs flat-screen TVs over client mantles.
They sit in custom frames with a print rolled
between the screen and the frame like a shade.
When the television is not in use, the print can
be unfurled to hide the screen and make it look
like a framed piece of art.

"It's a lot prettier than letting that black thing
hang on the wall," she says.

But sometimes that black thing gets to shine.
Bordeaux is designing an entertainment basement
for Phil and Iwona Leger of Tolland, Conn., who
plan to buy a TV with a 50- to 72-inch screen.

"We went to [Bordeaux] and we said, 'We want to
have a wine cellar, and a pool table and a home
theater area,' " Phil Leger says. "What can you do
with the space that we have?"

Bordeaux designed the space with half-height walls
so the Legers can watch TV both from the couch and
also while playing pool in the next room.

"In an entertainment space," Bordeaux says,
"you're not trying to hide the box."